REPUBLICAN CONVENTION,
DAY ONE/TWO:


I've been scanning a few blogs and realize that I am at a tremendous advantage here in old Canuckistan because our version of C-SPAN, called CPAC (the parliamentary channel), is broadcasting the conventions (unless something more pressing is on) gavel-to-gavel, WITHOUT INCESSANT TELEVISION PUNDIT BLATHERING. Fancy that! Like others, I've even gotten fed to the teeth with the FOX folks, who are less obnoxious than most.

Anyhoo, it's late, so I won't say much right now, except that there is something very "whipped" about the President sending his wife to defend his record with more emphasis than he has ever done himself. As usual, Laura looks "hot" in red.

Fred Thompson thumped the tub harder for McCain than he ever did for himself, and made many punchy points, and told the familiar narrative of McCain's career with a fresh flare and poignancy. Enjoyed it all. I don't know what Fred's planning, but I've suddenly started getting emails from him again, which I hadn't since he dropped out of the primaries.

Naturally I'm grateful for the efforts of Joe Lieberman, who's pretty much flushed his place in the Democratic party down the plughole -- he's starting to seem like a kid who packs a knapsack and sets out down the long dirt road to escape an abusive and dysfunctional family. He showed once again, sad to say, what an ineffectual Veep candidate he both was and would be, because he's such a dweeby speaker. But he got rolling towards the end, and did a fine job. He spoke carefully about how Obama's "eloquence" was no substitute for "a record" -- not the vague and overused word "experience." Sarah Palin has a record -- number of days logged in office is not important measure.

One could almost wonder whether Joe's vanilla performance on the stump with Gore in 2000 may have been due to the fact that he had to sell out so many principles to be credible on the ticket -- tonight he was speaking from the heart, which perhaps he could never really do eight years ago.

The tribute to Congressional Medal of Honor winner Navy Seal Michael Monsoor was very moving. I know the identities of several M.O.H. winners of recent years, but Monsoor will always be fresh in my mind, for my blog post about him served the extra purpose of encouraging my son during some down days in Iraq when, thanks to the carping trash-talk and defeatism of Democratic politicians in Washington, he was feeling discouraged about the mission. There were other military tributes, including a salute to at least a dozen of McCain's fellow POW's in attendance.

Tomorrow we meet the Fair Sarah.

High noon.

Do not desert me, oh my darlin'.